Gold Falls on Upbeat U.S. Economic Data

by Christopher Freeburn | September 5, 2013 4:37 pm

Gold Falls on Upbeat U.S. Economic Data

[1]Gold sank in Thursday trading after a trio of reports suggested a stronger U.S. economy, potentially signaling that the Federal Reserve will begin tapering its monthly bond-buying sooner rather than later.

The Institute for Supply Management reported that its service sector index climbed to a reading of 58.6 in August, up from 56 in July. The Labor Department said that first time claims for unemployment benefits last week came in below economists’ forecasts. Finally, the government revised upward its estimate of second-quarter worker productivity growth to an annual rate of 2.3%.

The Fed has said that it will ease its stimulus efforts if the economy continues to improve. The U.S. dollar gained on the news.

Gold futures for December delivery fell 1.2% to $1,373 per ounce on Thursday, according to CME Group[2]. Gold traded as high as $1,400 and as low as $1,364.70. Gold bullion closed in London at $1,371, according to BullionVault[3].

Silver futures for December delivery slid 0.7% to $23.26 per ounce. Thursday’s high for silver was $23.68, while the low was $23.04.

Gold and silver funds dropped in Thursday trading.

The SPDR Gold Shares (GLD[4]) fell 1.8%.

The iShares Gold Trust (IAU[5]) slid 1.7%.

The iShares Silver Trust (SLV[6]) declined 1.4%.

Gold and silver mining ETFs were slumped during the day.

The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX[7]) sank 3.7%.

The Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ[8]) tumbled 4.5%.

The Global X Silver Miners ETF (SIL[9]) decreased 1.4%.

Gold mining shares sank on Thursday.

Agnico-Eagle Mines (AEM[10]) dropped 5.8%.

Barrick Gold (ABX[11]) fell 2.6%.

Eldorado Gold (EGO[12]) pulled back 5.4%.

Goldcorp (GG[13]) slid 3.5%.

Kinross Gold (KGC[14]) moved down 2.9%.

Newmont Mining (NEM[15]) declined 4.2%.

NovaGold Resources (NG[16]) retreated 4.6%.

Yamana Gold (AUY[17]) decreased 4.3%.

Silver mining shares declined during the day.

Coeur d’Alene Mines (CDE[18]) tumbled 4.1%.

Hecla Mining (HL[19]) fell 3.2%.

Pan American Silver (PAAS[20]) moved down 2.3%.

Silver Wheaton (SLW[21]) dropped 3.3%.

Silver Standard Resources (SSRI[22]) retreated 3.9%.

As of this writing, Christopher Freeburn did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. Adrian Ash of BullionVault[23] contributed to this report.